Site Map - Hiring \ Employment Issues

06/11/2010 - Drug and illegal alien smuggling. Bribes. Kickbacks. Possession of child pornography. Attempted child sex abuse. These are just some of the crimes employees of the Department of Homeland Security were convicted of in fiscal year 2009, according to an internal report released today.

05/28/2010 - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a background screening case in which 28 employees of the California Institute of Technology, under contract to do work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have claimed that the government’s screening policy is too intrusive. The policy was implemented in 2004 under a government homeland security directive.

05/17/2010 - Lawmakers on a House Financial Services' subcommittee last week examined amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a current or prospective employer from using credit reports to make employment decisions such as hiring, firing, or promotion.

02/26/2010 - The Pentagon’s assistant inspector general for Southwest Asia outlined the oversight challenges of holding contractors accountable in Afghanistan before the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

02/18/2010 - A jury has found that a woman was wrongfully terminated after she gave negative information about a coworker during an internal investigation.

12/23/2009 - A new Minnesota law (formerly H.B. 882) would protect employers in civil lawsuits where the plaintiff is seeking damages arising from the actions of employees. To be protected from liability, one of three conditions must exist, according to the law: The employee did not pose a greater risk in his employment than he would as a general member of the public; the criminal record of the employee had been sealed; the employee had been pardoned or the arrest or charge did not result in criminal conviction.

10/09/2009 - DHS has taken the first steps to reduce its contractor force in favor of government employees.

09/30/2009 - Lawmakers on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia recently held a hearing on a whistleblower protection bill (S. 372). The bill was introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who chairs the subcommittee.   The bill would expand whistleblower protection of federal employees to clarify that any disclosure is protected under the law, to provide a process to review suspensions and revocations of security clearances, and to protect disclosures of censorship of scientific information.

09/28/2009 - A good how-to-do manual for those security professionals looking to make the jump from government to the private sector.

09/17/2009 - The arrest of a Yale lab technician in the murder case of Yale graduate student Annie Le has provoked questions about the university's background screening policies.

08/06/2009 - Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton resigned yesterday to lead a subsidiary of a security company that will provide training, consulting, and information services to police forces around the world.

07/31/2009 - A new law (formerly H.B. 505) enacted in Iowa will require that all volunteers working in the state’s veterans homes who have direct contact with patients or residents undergo a background check. The checks will cover criminal history and claims of dependent adult abuse. Those with criminal records or histories of abuse will not be allowed to volunteer.

07/31/2009 - A bill (H.R. 1939) introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) would require that employees in the alarm monitoring and security system installation industry undergo criminal background checks. The background screening would include a federal criminal background check to uncover any felony or offense involving dishonesty, false statements, or use of force in the previous 10 years.